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Poker/History

Poker is a game, whose history is of much debate by many circles since it is not known exactly when poker was created, however, there were many games that used hand rankings when incorporating betting that were very similar to Poker. The game that was most closely related to poker and was the first known to be so similar was the German game Pochspiel.

Another game that closely resembles the game of poker is the Persian game As Nas. When poker was first played in the United States, the game consisted of four players being dealt five cards using a 20 card pack, which would have made it a direct derivative of As Nas.

Another game which was similar to poker was a French game called Poque and in fact was played in a region very close to where the game of poker was said to have originated. It is also said that the name of poker came from this game and also another Irish game called Poca.

Even though there is much argument as to where the game of poker exactly originated from, there are many experts and historians that state that the game of poker is influenced by all of the games listed above, not only influencing name, but as well as influencing bluffing and hand rankings as well. The game of poker has evolved greatly from these early ancestors who can all argue the claim that the game of poker was created from their game.